CULLOWHEE, N.C. — Georgia Southern answered the bell with a 72-66 win over Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon in the Ramsey Center.
    After two games where the team’s effort was called into question, the Eagles produced a complete 40-minute win over Western Carolina.
    “We challenged the guys to play with effort today and we came out and played very hard,” said GSU coach Charlton Young. “My MVP of the game was Tre Bussey because he came out and played hard today even though he didn’t score. Overall, the way we played today is the way we want to play basketball down the stretch, and if we can do that, we will be in contention for a championship.”
    Eric Ferguson led the Eagles (9-12, 3-5 Southern Conference) on the afternoon with 18 points and four rebounds, but it was a total team victory as four players scored in double-figures for the game. Cameron Baskerville scored 13 first half points and finished the game with 14 to set a new career-high in his senior season.
    Senior point guard C.J. Reed added a career-high 11 assists in the game to go along with seven points as he initiated the GSU offense. Cleon Roberts scored 13 points while Tre Bussey added 11 points off the bench.
    The Eagles held Western Carolina’s (8-13, 5-4 SoCon) leading scorer this season, Trey Sumler, in check as one of the league’s best players was held to just seven points, less than half of his season average. Tom Tankelewicz went 5-of-8 from downtown to lead the Catamounts with 20 points. Brandon Boggs and Tawaski King scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.
    Georgia Southern posted its best first half of league play with 13 from Baskerville. He went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc to open the game, making his first three baskets from downtown this season. Reed reached the 500 career assist milestone halfway through the opening period as he fed Baskerville for his second three-pointer of the afternoon.
    The Eagles, however, trailed by one at the intermission 37-36. Out of the break, GSU went on a 7-2 run to open the second half and take a 43-39 lead through the first two minutes in the period.
    The Eagles led by as many as eight points in the second half with three overall lead changes in the second half. GSU posted a 63-59 lead entering the final minute of the game. A turnover gave Roberts the chance to run the break alone where the freshman made a layup , but missed the free throw with 51 seconds remaining to give GSU a 65-59 lead.
    GSU’s largest lead of the afternoon was eight points with just 40 seconds remaining. The Catamounts tried to make a run in the final minute, but could not get within four points in the waning seconds as GSU held on for the 72-66 victory.
    Next up for Southern is a trip to Furman on Thursday night starting at 7 p.m. GSU is back at home on Saturday, February 2nd, against Chattanooga.